Let's face it. Visitors to your church are a pain. They upset the dynamics of your routine. They don't know the drill. Someone has to explain it to them- where the kid's classes are, etc. They didn't bring a Bible and when the plate is passed, they just look at it vacantly and pass it on.Visitors just slow things down and get in the way. Precious time that could be spent with our friends is wasted on people who probably visit once or twice, only to be never heard from again.We grew up going to church with our families; they didn't. We went to college; they didn't. We're good Christians . . . it's obvious, isn't it? All you have to do is look at that glow in our smiles. As to these visitors, well, it's just as obvious that their lives have been . . . let's just leave it at "less than optimized."We can save everyone a lot of time and trouble if we nip this in the bud at the outset. The bottom line is that the best way to deal with church visitors is to make them feel as unwelcome as possible. The following are some tips to help you do just that:1. Ignore them. This is the easiest and perhaps the most important tool in our arsenal. Don't make eye contact. Instead, stick closely with your friends. Eventually, they'll go away.2. Hire church staff who will ignore them. Church staff are paid to care for the needs of the flock, after all. We aren't paying them to take care of outsiders.3. Create as much bureacracy as possible. Make sure that your senior pastor understands his/her role as a sort of CEO. He or she has built this church into what it is today. They can't be bothered with the mundane spiritual needs of visitors or newbies, or spiritually needy people. Granted, gospel accounts tell us that Jesus made himself available to pretty much anyone who had a need. But then again, Jesus didn't have email, a website, a blog or a sermon to write every week.4. If you have smaller group activities, make sure that it is impossible for visitors to participate. The best way to do this is to have an annual enrollment period and make sure that you do not, under any circumstances, provide any information to visitors as to these groups. You don't want to give them any ideas.For that matter, make sure that the bureacracy that you create makes it impossible for visitors to particpate in anything. We certainly don't want them to get any ideas that they can pitch in- teach a class, say a prayer, help with the collection plate, etc. If they participate, they might actually feel like they are part of your group; like they have some ownership in it. It will make them feel almost as if they belong. And this is a real problem.5. Never, ever, admit anything. The happier and more perfect your lives seem, the more that these visitors will realize that they don't fit in. If you ever admit sin or troubles, they might somehow identify with you and decide to stick around. 6. Always ask yourself: "What wouldn't Jesus do?" Then do it. If they actually see Jesus in your church, you'll never be able to get rid of them.We can all save everyone a lot of wasted time and energy if we simply lay the cards out on the table. We've worked way too hard to build our church into what it is today. The last thing we need is someone coming in that might cause us to change the way we think, or the things we do. And after all, challenging the religious status quo causes nothing but trouble for everyone.

It's a gift. God gave each of us the most precious gift imaginable. He came to this place, Earth, and lived among us. He gave us the gift of life forever, with Him.Of course, if you don't believe in Him, this is a problem. Or, if you've never really thought about what happens after you die, the gift may not seem that important. Or, if you believe that you are a "pretty good person," you may not think that you even need the gift.

So, to understand the true meaning of Christmas, you have to begin with two premises. The first premise is that God exists. The second is that He created the universe and everything in it. If you don't accept either of these premises, then the logic used in the rest of this blog won't be valid.

We can argue all day long about these premises. However, my own view is that if you don't subscribe to them, then life quickly becomes meaningless. If there is no God, then there must be no afterlife. Therefore, this life is it. And if this life is all that there is, then there's not point in doing anything other than getting what you can, and avoiding as much pain and trouble as possible. It's kind of depressing, isn't it? I believe in God because I see evidence of him all around me, in His creation. I believe in God because there are just too many things that have happened in my life to be attributed to random chance and coincidence.At the same time, if I believe in God but believe that being a "pretty good person" is good enough to get me into Heaven, I've overlooked an important point. I believe I'm a "pretty good person." However, I also believe that being a pretty good person isn't good enough. A cosmic "scale of justice" may sound pretty good to the human sense of fairness, but it overlooks an important point. God gave us everything we have. Directly or indirectly, He gave us life; therefore, everything we have is derived from this gift. Certainly, we can all make the most of this gift, but we all started out owing Him. As a result, even if we live perfect lives, in complete accordance with His will, we break even. And the truth is that none of live perfect livesThere is a third premise that is a bit more difficult to accept. The premise is that a perfect God requires perfection from His creatures. It seems harsh. Why doesn't God simply forgive us for our sins?Asking God to forgive our sins is essentially asking Him to overlook them. My own view is that a perfect God cannot tolerate sin. Think about it this way. A brand new car on the lot isn't brand new after it has been driven. It may look new. But there are little signs of decay- a small chip in the underbelly from a stone; a grain of sand has microscopically marred the paint. The minute a small imperfection occurs, the car is not longer a brand new, perfect car. If God were to tolerate sin, then He is no longer perfect. And if God is flawed, then all bets are off. This leaves mankind with a very difficult problem Imperfect humans seek a perfect God. After that first sin, we become imperfect. Without some external intervention, we can never commune with Him. It becomes impossible for any imperfect human to have a relationship with a perfect God.Mankind tried for thousands of years to earn its way to God. Some religions are still trying- they make offerings to a plethora of gods; they do all kinds of things in an effort to be good enough for these gods; most likely, out of fear. I've already described the problem with this. We simply can't do enough to perfect ourselves with a perfect god.

Instead, He reached out to us. He became a human. His name was Jesus. He lived among us. He taught us about Him. Finally, we killed him. It was crucifixion, preceded by humliation, beatings, and floggings. It was perhaps the most heinous and cruel way to kill someone ever devised by man.It balanced the scales. If God, who gave us everything, paid the price for our sins Himself, then it's over. His payment is enough to take care of everything that we have ever done, and will ever do. Is there anyone for whom you would die? Perhaps it's your spouse or children. Or, perhaps you might even die for a stranger. It may seem far-fetched, but it happens every day. Soldiers who defend this country do it every day. So do police officers, firefighters and other public servants.It's an incredible gift. It's what Christmas means. When we humans give each other gifts at Christmas, we are emulating the biggest gift ever given. In our own little ways, we give to one another in celebration of His gift. Think about how you feel when you give a gift. You take great joy in the look of delight on the recipent's face when they open it. If you have kids, there is almost nothing like seeing their surprise and excitement when they open their presents.Think about how God feels when we finally open His gift to us. Perhaps we've struggled for much of our lives. And then something happens; perhaps an evangelical outreach or chance encounter. Or it might happen after years of bible study. But one day, it all comes together for us. We understand. We believe. Like a child at Christmas, we open the Gift of all gifts, the Gift of Jesus Christ.We receive the gift through simple faith. We believe that Jesus was who He said He was. We accept the gift and commit ourselves to following in His footsteps, out of gratitude, rather than fear. We do it through a simple prayer.A gift with no strings can be difficult to accept for humans who choose to believe in "cosmic scales." We think, "there must be more to it. Surely, I have to do something." We scratch our heads. We rationalize. "How can my eternal destiny hinge upon a simple prayer of faith?"The answer is simple. God loves you. He's given you an incredible gift.All you have to do is open it.

The chances are good at this time of the year that your church is overflowing. People who never go to church somehow gravitate to it at Christmas time. It’s hard to resist Christmas songs, lights and the Christmas spirit. It makes us feel good.

But what about the rest of the year? Is your church vibrant, and more importantly welcoming to people seeking God? Or, have you inadvertently created barriers that cause new Christians or non-Christians to feel unwelcome?Whether they realize it or not, many churches are not welcoming places. Their memberships are incredibly homogenous. To outsiders, they appear to be happy and carefree people, who lead perfect lives. Unfortunately, some are perceived as being hypocritical- they profess to embrace the love of Christ, but that love isn’t offered to those outside their church. It’s one of the reasons mainstream America views organized Christianity with disdain.

Worse, the members have become so deeply embedded in the status quo that they cannot see the spiritual “forest for the trees.” They get so caught up in the organization that they lose sight of the church’s purpose. They become isolated and spiritually dead. Their worship and teaching is repetitive, rote and uninspired.

Some large churches are victims of their own success. These “mega-churches”have become so large that visitors and others who are hurting or with spiritual needs fall through the organizational cracks. Hurting people visit for a while and then simply fade away. They may even become so disillusioned with the process that they walk away from the faith forever.How can you decide whether your church is truly a welcoming place? I've created a questionnaire designed to help you assess how your church encourages and welcomes visitors, and feeds them spiritually. Click here for the questionnaire.

Evil visited that small town in Connecticut yesterday. Or, perhaps more accurately, evil revealed itself. I suspect that it had been around for a while.It's the nature of evil. It hides in the shadows. It whispers to unsuspecting people who are looking for answers. It deceives them. It instructs them. And eventually, it controls them.It is a story as old as mankind. Man chooses to do evil. Mankind inflicts unimaginable horror upon mankind. Genocide, ethnic "cleansing," abuse, torture, and mass murder. When it happens we are dumbfounded. "How could something like this happen?" When a new story breaks, there is a media frenzy with commentators analyzing the facts, in an effort to help explain it to all of us. We try to make sense of it.I supposed you could argue that insane people don't really have a choice. They don't appreciate the consequences of their decisions. But what if there were a point in all of our lives, where we made a simple choice that reset the direction of our lives?Simple choices lead to more choices. Over time, our lives become an aggregation of those choices. A decision may seem innocuous at the time. But if you look at the big picture, the decision often boils down to good versus evil. I can choose good, or I can choose evil. Satan is a liar. He always has been. Read the Genesis account. Whether or not you accept it as literal truth, even as metaphor, it is an incredibly accurate account of how evil works in our lives. Satan rationalizes He operates in stealth. We rationalize- "I'll just do it this one time." Or, "I deserve this." Or, "It's not that big of a deal." We act upon it. Guilt and fear take over. In the case of Adam and Eve, the original humans, it separated them from their Father.A simple decision to do evil, especially when rationalized, may not seem like that big of a deal at the time. But once evil gets a toehold in our lives, it begins to take over. We become numb to it. Sin leads to more sin. Like a horrible cancer, it eventually consumes us.

Christians believe that evil was conquered once and for all when Jesus died on the cross. It's why He cried, "It is finished." Jesus' crucifixion paid the price for all of the sins of mankind forever. He died for my sins. He died for your sins. He died for every sinful act ever committed. We accept this payment through our faith in Him. As a result, Satan, whether he realizes it or not, can no longer create a separation between us and God. More importantly, understanding this means that evil cannot take us over. We are forgiven. Certainly, we will sin again. However, we simply confess that sin and have the confidence that the payment has been made. We are right with God. Instead of rationalizing, we repent. It interrupts the cycle. Bad decisions don't have to lead to more bad decisions.Evil may have visited that town in Connecticutt yesterday. But it did not prevail. God, through His Son, prevailed. He is with those grieving families. He loves them. The gospels teach us that Jesus had a special place in his heart for little children. I believe that those 20 Connecticut children are, at this moment, with Jesus. It must be an incredible scene. They are singing and playing with the Creator of the Universe. He is bouncing one on his knee; hugging another. Everything is absolutely right with these children. They are the recipients of a love beyond anything that even the most loving parents could give. It defies description.He loves you that same way.

When most of us (Christian or not) think of Christmas, we think of the baby Jesus in the manger scene. A sweet and innocent infant is surrounded incongruously by farm animals, and royalty bearing gifts. We celebrate His birth by giving gifts and dreaming of peace on Earth.Jesus' birth is certainly important. It's a miracle. The same God who created the unverse came to live among His creation. He visited us for a while. That fact alone is incredible.Jesus' death is equally important. God gave us everything; our lives and our potential. But it wasn't enough for us. We made the choice to go our own way. We separated from Him and His will for us. Because God is perfect, this choice should have resulted in an eternal chasm between us and God. But it doesn't have to.God's plan included a remedy. As Jesus, God submitted to us. He was crucified for no reason. Jesus' death on the cross was sufficient to remedy every bad choice made by every person yesterday, today and tomorrow. It's why Jesus cried out on the cross, "It is finished!"It's the most incredible gift imaginable.And it is why we should always remember it at Christmas. Granted, it is a lot more pleasant to think of Jesus as a baby in a manger, surrounding by wise men. Christmas songs and Christmas trees, at Christmas, make us feel good.But the real meaning of Christmas is the gift of Jesus. God gave us a gift with eternal consequences. If you really think about it, the Jesus plan is the only one that makes sense, as a remedy for the sins of mankind. How else could any of us be "right" with God? We can't earn it. We can't be more "good than bad," no matter how good we are. It's because He gave us our lives. After that first sin, we can never make the scales balance. We will always be in a deficit position, no matter how much good we do. And if we are honest, we will realize that all of us have done much more bad than good. The only way to balance the scales (or perhaps more appropriately, neutralize the sin), is if God Himself does it. That's exactly what He did. We accept His gift through faith. We affirmatively acknowledge the gift through a simple prayer: "God I'm sorry for going the wrong way. Thank you for making it right through Jesus."So, at Christmas, as we give our gifts, let's remember God's gifts- our lives and everything we have. And let's remember the ultimate gift of Jesus- the gift us his life for us. Jesus died, so that we can live.Merry Christmas.

I love Christmas. We have so many traditions as a family and I look forward to all of them. This morning, we played Christmas music and the girls made Christmas cards. As only little girls can do, Meredith and Lauren melted my heart when each, at various stages of their craft, asked me to draw something that a child's hand simply isn't developed enough to draw. In Meredith's case, it was a Christmas tree and Lauren asked me to draw a reindeer. I'm no artist, but they were clearly thrilled with the result.I overheard Meredith excitedly and proudly tell Mommy that "Dad drew a Christmas tree for my card!" Lauren chimed in, "He drew a reindeer for me!"It hit me in such a strange and sweet way. I'm their Dad, and they are my children. Obviously, this is not new news. But somehow, it touch my heart- I felt a sense of love and pride in this fact. I'm their Dad and I love them just because they are my girls. It's arguably the purest kind of love there is.God loves you like that. He loves you just because you are His. One of the hardest things for us to accept is unconditional love. We believe we have to earn it. I struggled for many years trying to please Him. Many of us grew up trying to please our earthly parents. However, some earthly parents are better at unconditional love than others. And no earthly parent is like God. As a result, we mistakenly impute this earthly relationship to God. When I did something good, I believed He was proud of me. This, in turn, meant that His love for me increased. When I did something bad, I believed He was disappointed in me. This would mean that His love for me decreased. The truth is that God loves you, no matter what. He reconciled with you through Jesus. He loves you the same way I love Meredith and Lauren. No matter what they do, they are my children. And I love them because of that. When we deviate from His will for us, there is typically a consequence or struggle. That's because His will is perfect; his plan for our lives is perfect. When we go our own way, it's like taking an unnecessary detour- painful, difficult, and stressful. When we stay on the right road, the travel is effortless. Either way, His love for us remains constant and unwavering. It's unconditional.He's your Dad. He loves you.No matter what.